“ Indian Reading in The waste Land”

Name : Gausvami Surbhi A.

Assignment Topic : “ Indian Reading in The waste Land”

Paper no. 9 , Modernist Literature

Roll No. : 23

Submitted to : Dr. Dilip Barad, M.A. Department of English

                           MK Bhavnagar University.

Email id: gausvamisurbhi17@gmail.com

Batch Year: 2016-18

Click here to evaluate my assignment.

         “ Indian Reading in The Waste Land “

# Introduction:

Poetry, religion and philosophy are no doubt quite distinct from each other in theory and may have different purposes; but in practice they often coalesce. Poetry for example may embody powerful feelings in a unique form, and yet carry both religious and philosophical overtones. Moreover, at their profoundest and deepest levels, poetry, religion, and philosophy spring out certain intense perception, which evolve into complex visions with a cosmic significance. We may therefore, penetrate the works of a philosophical poet like Eliot by means of the keen perception underlying his poetry. By juxtaposing these insight with those of the Upanishads. We find a deep insight of Indian religion and philosophy in the last part of the poem “ What does the Thunder say?”.
 

“The Waste Land" has long been considered T. S. Eliot's masterpiece. In its five sections, he delves into themes of war, trauma, disillusionment, and death, illuminating the devastating aftereffects of World War I. When it was first published, the poem was considered radically experimental. The title is indicative of Eliot’s attitude toward his contemporary society, as he uses the idea of a dry and sterile wasteland as a metaphor for a Europe devastated by war and desperate for spiritual replenishment but depleted of the cultural tools necessary for renewal. The poem is deliberately obscure and fragmentary, incorporating variant voices, multiple points of view, and abrupt shifts in dramatic context.

# Impact of Upanishad on The Waste Land:

T.S Eliot was highly influenced by Indian philosophy. He makes an incontrovertible appeal to the thunder of the ‘Brihdarankya Upanishad’ in the final portion of  The Waste Land.  The scene shifts to the Ganges, half a world away from Europe, where thunder rumbles. Eliot draws on the traditional interpretation of “what the thunder says,” as taken from the Upanishads. According to these fables, the thunder “gives,” “sympathizes,” and “controls” through its “speech”; Eliot launches into a meditation on each of these aspects of the thunder’s power. The meditations seem to bring about some sort of reconciliation, as a Fisher King-type figure is shown sitting on the shore preparing to put his lands in order, a sign of his imminent death or at least abdication. The poem ends with a series of disparate fragments from a children’s song, from Dante, and from Elizabethan drama, leading up to a final chant of “Shantih shantih shantih”—the traditional ending to an Upanishad. Eliot, in his notes to the poem, translates this chant as “the peace which passeth understanding,” the expression of ultimate resignation.

There are numerous examples of Hindu influences on the "Wasteland." Some of these allusions are obvious, such as the Hindu story footnoted in Part V. or the repetition of "shantih" at the poem's close. Others are only apparent if you know where to look. Illustrations of life-in-death are reminders of the Hindu concept of maya, or the ultimate unreality of what we consider life. Maya describes the veil of illusion that leads people to believe that the world is made up of things separate and distinct, and blinds them to the reality that life is in fact a unified whole. Hindu philosophy teaches that it is the ignorance of this unity which is at the root of all human misery and suffering. Illustrations of the other aspect of this motif, life-in-death, can also serve as reminders of Hindu philosophy, specifically the concept of reincarnation. According to this idea, reincarnation or rebirth is not something to be celebrated, but instead signifies that the person being reborn has not yet realized the unity of life. Those who fail to come to this realization are doomed to rebirth and the continuation of an endless cycle of suffering in a world of illusions. 

There are three kinds of  "DA" taken from Hindu mythology. The gods interpret this as "damyata" or “control,” the humans as "datta", or “give,” and the demons as "dayadhvam", or “sympathize.” The story ends with the Creator, represented as the sound of thunder, repeating "da da da" as a reminder to practice self-control, giving, and compassion. In the "Wasteland" Eliot modifies this story following each interpretation with a passage in which the protagonist thinks about how the word, and the ideas it represents, relates to his life. Many critics interpret these responses in terms of human love and connection, and while this reading relates to other sections of the poem that depict sterile or uncommunicative relationships, it does not address the reasons why Eliot would choose to use a Hindu story to illustrate these states. (Robyn)

# What The Thunder Said:

                 

A starting point of our analysis of what the Thunder said is afforded by the first essay  in the ‘Kittredge Anniversary papers, which is extremely interesting to students of T.S. Eliot. This paper, ‘ Hindu Law and Custom as to Gifts’, is by Charles Rockwell Lanman, former Wales professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University. He mentions that The voice of God repeats, the thunder, when it rolls “ Da Da Da” that is damyata, datta and dayadhvam. Therefore these three must be learned, self-control, giving, compassion. According to Lanman ‘The teaching of the Vedas, the Brahman’s noblest duty, is a “ giving of the Sacred word.” Just as the water, once poured out, can never be regathered  and taken back. In the Waste land this idea becomes “The awful daring of a moment’s surrender/which an age of prudence can never retract.” The speaker is thinking of something far more profound. About what he should have given. This giving operates on two levels. The first is a complete surrender of himself to another person in love. But if we recall the Hindu context of Praja-Pati’s  command, we have a clue to another level of  meaning in the passage ,for the most important gift the Brahman could give was the ‘Sacred Word’. Therefore this passage operates not only on the level of a profound and significant human love, but on the level of divine love as well. In Hindu religion and philosophy each being understands and realizes God in terms of his own spiritual background. Hence there are many Gods, different Gods for Hindu, Muslims, jain, Shikh, Buddha etc. But the ultimate message is the same of every God. According to the Hindu religion, opposed to the virtues enjoined by Praja-Pati are the ‘three primary vices’: desire of lust, greed and wrath. And the Radhakrishan emphasizes the importance of what the thunder said to Hindu thinking;

“ In one passage all the virtue are brought together under the three ‘Da’ which are heard in the voice of the thunder, namely, dama or self-restrain, dana or self-sacrifice and daya or compassion. Prajapati   conveys it to the three classes of his (asura) Gods have desires(kama), men suffer from greed (Lobha) and demons from anger(Krodha). By the practice of the three injunctions we free ourselves from the sway of craving, greed and anger. When the Buddha asks us to  put out in our hearts the monstrous fires of infatuation, greed and resentment, he is emphasizing the three virtues enjoined by the Upanishadas.”

Here again a reference to the Hindu commentary is in order: ‘ Daya or  compassion is more than sympathy or intellectual or emotional feeling. It is love in action, fellowship in suffering. It is feeling of one’s own the circumstances and aspirations to self-perfection which we find in others. The ultimate goal of any human being is salvation through knowledge.

‘The Atman or soul in it’s essential nature is one with Brahman, the absolute. ‘Brahman’ thee first principle of the universe. Is known through Atman, the inner self of man. The soul of the universe is identified with the soul of the man. “ Rule over oneself becomes rule over the World”. The Upanishads give in some detail the path of the inner ascent. The inward journey by which the individual souls get at the ultimate reality. Truth is within us….. the goal is identity with the supreme consciousness and freedom. (M.E GRENANDER)

The last line of The Waste Land has the singular distinction of having baffled the best commentators on the poem. A commentator like David Ward wanders why a poem “ So little like the Upanishads in it’s moral and spiritual universe.” Ends with blessings and greetings of peace. Among the Hindus it is well known that ‘Shantih’ is chanted in solemn benediction to oneself and to the others. Vedic recitation strictly end with the chant of the Shantih Mantra. Which seeks for the blessings of the God and ends with the mystic syllable ‘OM’.  Upanishadas describe om as the supreme symbol Brahman, indeed of the whole world. (CHANDRAN)   
                                                                                                
# Conclusion:‘ The Waste Land’ is modern poem by T.S Eliot which has deep  essence of Hindu religion. Last part of the poem speaks about the Indian philosophy and religion. It reflects the search for the self and it’s relation with the universe. It is the journey of getting the ultimate goal of human being “Salvation”. The word ‘Shantih’ has deep meaning of the Hindu thoughts and philosophy. Last section of the poem is full of Hind mythology.

Works Cited

CHANDRAN, K. NARAYANA. ""Shantih" in The Waste Land." JSTORE 61 (n.d.): 681-683.

M.E GRENANDER, K.S NARAYANA RAO. "The waste Land and the Upanishadas: what does the Thunder say?" JSTOR 14 (n.d.): 85-98.

Robyn. yoExpert. 21 October 2017 <http://poetry.yoexpert.com/reading-studying-poems/what-are-the-hindu-influences-on-ts-eliot-s-%22waste-955.html>.